The Pre-Lunar New Year Travel Crunch

China's rail systems will handle an average of 5.2 million trips a day.

On February 10, the Chinese will usher in the Year of the Snake. But right now, they're heralding the holiday with snaking traffic, long delays, and interminable waits.

In the next couple of weeks, the country's railway system will handle 5.2 million daily trips, as people travel home for the Lunar New Year. Last Saturday, the Ministry of Railways added 358 additional passenger trains around the country. Below, scenes from some of the country's railway stations.

A paramilitary policeman stands guard as passengers walk to board their trains at the Beijing West Railway Station. (Suzie Wong/Reuters)

Passengers, pictured through a window of a train, squeeze into a crowded carriage in Hefei, Anhui province. (Reuters)A passenger carrying a bag checks his ticket as it snows as he arrives at the Beijing West Railway Station. (Reuters)

A migrant worker carrying her belongings prepares to board a train bound for Chengdu, at a railway station in Shanghai. (Reuters)